BY GABRIEL PRINCEWILL
JOSHUA BUZZ LOSES MOMEMTUM AS HE PULLS OUT OF JANUARY CLASH WITH DURABLE AMERICAN
British heavyweight prospect, Anthony Joshua has suffered his first set back in the form of a fracture injury to his back forcing him out of his first real test on January 31. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist who has won all 10 of his fights with a knockout was tipped by promoter Eddie Hearn to rock the division by expectations he would be the first to knock out the durable American who has not been stopped in 42 fights. Hearn had also confidently declared that Joshua would beat rising motor mouth prospect, Tyson Fury and was even ready for former WBA champion David Haye this year Unfortunately, those projections have been scuppered by an injury and now Joshua has lost the momentum that was exciting both hard core and casual fans in the nation. This is another grim reminder why promoters should sometimes not go ahead of themselves since the one supervening event is always potential injury which is not uncommon in the fight game, particularly the heavyweight division.
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Last year, David Price, who was similarly tipped as the next big thing before falling short twice against veteran Tony Thompson, pulled out twice of scheduled fights because of injury. Had Joshua not been injured and emerged victorious on the planned bill, he would have been on a fast collision course with the giant Liverpool puncher whose career has slowed down since sustaining injuries atop back to back defeats to Thompson. He would have stood an advantage practically and psychologically against Price. The roles may now be reversed, and Price may regroup and shake off some of the ring rust. Apart from talent and ability, the momentum and prospect of boxers also hinges partly on the unforeseen but probable chance of injury. Only two years ago, David Haye pulled out of three fights in the same year- one against Manuell Charr , and two against Tyson Fury. All because of unforeseen injury, though in has been suggested by some behind the scenes that Haye bottled it against Fury. Conceivable as this is, it is doubtful because Haye would most likely have knocked out Fury since he is a different class of fighter. Considering the fact Haye has announced his return following the surgical success on his shoulders, it is obvious the pair will clash at some point in the future, so this counteracts the suggestion Haye was running scared.
The buzz Joshua generated by his regular fights and decisive knockouts will now wane whilst we wait for him to recover. All eyes will now be across the Atlantic to Deontey Wilder’s world title challenge this Saturday. Victory for the American will make him the man to watch, and we may have to wait for either Price or Fury to turn on the lights again.
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